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SPEECH 



O P 



HON. CHARLES G. FERRIS, 



OF NEW Y K K , 



ON THE FORTIFlCATlOi* BILL. 



^5* 



r \0 



ULILlVERED IN THE 



<*3^ 



HOUSE OF RE PRESETS TATIVES, 



GATURDAY, JULY 17, 1841. 



WASHINGTON : 

PRINTED AT THE GLOBE OFFICE, 
1 8 4 « 



E 



P'2') 



SPEECH. 



In the Home «f Represenlalives, July 17, 1841 — On 
the foriilicaiion bill, in reply to Mr. Underwood 
of Kentucky, and oiheri-, who made objections to 
the appropriationi!. 

On motion of Mr. Fillmore, the Hou.';e resolved 
itself into Committee ot the Whole on the state of 
ihe Union, (Mr. Winthrop of Matsachuseiis in 
the chair,) on the bill making appropriations for 
various loriilicatiori;, for ordnance, and for pre- 
venting and suppressing Indian hostiliiie*. The 



the motion of Mr. Wattersln 

laciing clause of the bill, Mr. 

the commiliee in substance as 



question being on 
to strike out the 
Ferris addressed 
lollows: 

Mr. Chairman: I have no disposition to intrude 
myself upon the notice of the House. I would 
prefer being a listener to a speaker on this floor. 
Hut there are occasions when to be silent, would 
be a dereliction of duly. Havitig the honor in 
pavt to repiesL-nt the city of New York, which is 
deeply interested in the passage of this bill, I feel 
desirous of expressing my views in relation to it. 
The bill has been assailed in so many and various 
ways, that 1 find it difficult to follow the many ob- 
jections that have been urged against its passage. 
Some oppose the bill on the principle of retaliation, 
because on a former occasion many of the support- 
ers of this bill preferred the distribution of Ihe surplus 
revenue among the States, to the application of it 
tif tortifications, and others because they would 
prefer applying the resources of the country to the 
increase of the navy. Some oppose it on the ground 
that the fortifications,Swhen completed, will require 
a large number ol men to defend them, and oihers 
indulge in political crimination and recrimination, 
without examining the merits of the bill. Some 
oppose it because the bill lor the disitibuiion of ihe 
proceeds of the public lands has passed, and oihers, 
because a loan bill of twelve millions is in pro- 
gress. Some object to the bill because they be- 
lieve the unexpended balances of past appropria- 
tions are sufBcient lor all present emergencies, 
and others because they have no confidence in for- 
tifications as a means of national defence. 

This is a learful combination of hostile ele- 
ments, and the friends of the bill may justly be 
alarmed at the success of a measuie so necessary 
in ihe present crisis of our national affairs. But 
if the subject before us is stripped of all the extra- 
neous matter with which it has been surrounded 
in the progiess of thi* debate, it presents the naked 
question: Shall our country be put in a state of 
defence, so far as the roparaiion and improvement 
of the existing fortifications may place them in a 
serviceable state, by the expenditure of the unex- 
pended balances of the appropriations lor 1840, 
and the appropriations contemplated by this billl 
I am aware that the opinions of gentlemen on 
this question will be influenced by various 
causeSj and to a considerable extent by their 



relative geographical position. And I do not 
complain on that account. Those who reside 
on the fronlier'or seacoast, and must meet the 
first shock of an invading foe, feel a na- 
tural desire to be placed in a stale of safety. Those 
who reside in the interior, or "far beyond the 
mountains," and are secure from "war'.'5 alarms," 
do not feel the same necessity for the erection and 
support of fortifications. Those who look upon 
our forjign relations as threatening war, are ur- 
gent to place the country in a state of defence; and 
those who look upon the interruption of peace as 
a remote contingency, are indifferent to appropria- 
tions providing for hostilities. 

Without wailing to examine the accuracy ot 
these different views, I believe that it will be tene- 
rally conceded, that, whether we are to enjoy the 
continuance of peace, or have to meet war wUh 
its concomitant evils, this country should gradually 
perfect a system of fortifications on her seacoast 
and frontier, which shall ultimately place the na- 
tion in a stale of defence, and that there should be 
annually applied for, this purpose a reasonable por- 
tion of the public revenue. The national defence 
was one of the great objects for which the central 
Government was formed; it was one of the consi- 
derations which induced the Stales to give up to 
the common Treasury of the nation their respective 
revenues, and sacrifice, forjthe benefit of all the 
American people, their local advantages; and per- 
mit me to say, without intending the remark as 
invidious, that the State of New York did not 
make the least of those sacrifices, as is 
evidenced by the fact that more than 
one half of the entire commercial revenue 
of the United Slates, is derived from goods im- 
ported into the city of New York, and now she is 
compelled humbly to solicit through her represen- 
tatives for a few hundred thousand dollars to erect 
fortifications decided, by an intelligent board of offi- 
cers, lo be necessary to place her in a partial state 
of defence. I say par:ial, because the same board 
of officers set forth in their report, to which I shall 
have occasion to refer, that to prevent the occupa- 
tion by an enemy's vessels of war, of the bay be- 
low the Narrows, by which this entrance to the 
harbor of New York would be closed to her trade 
and commerce, will require the erection of works 
at an expense of 3,362,824 dollars, and that to 
place the city of New York in a complete state of 
defence, would require the erection of a fort at 
Wilkins's point, opposite Thrcg's point, and 
other important works, which it i; not now neces 
sary to detail. 

Tne naiional defence, was among the most 
powerful motives which induced the States re- 
spectively to yield upa portion of their sovereignty, 
and form this great confederated Republican em- 
pire, adopting for her banner the stars and stripes, 
and 'fur her motto "E Pluribus Unum." 



The national defeuce was one of the induce- 
ments to the adoption of that Consiiiiuion undfr 
whose sanction we are now deliberaiiong, and 
which inve&is Congress with "power to lay. and 
caliect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay 
the debts, and provide fur the common defence 
and general welfare of the United States " 

From the examinatien of document No. 20G, ot 
the first session of the 26th Congress, containing 
a report of the same board of officers, concerning 
the military defences of the country, bearing datt- 
May 10, 1840, it appears that it will require 
$12,186,547 to place the nation ia a pa-'tial 
state of defence, acd that to cc^mplete a full system 
of defence by fortilicatioas, according to the plan 
laid down in the report, will require theexpendi 
tore of $29,215,371 to repair and build the fortifi- 
cations, and the further sum of $6,228,340 to arm 
them; making together the sum vi $35,443,711. 
We are informed by the chairman oi the Commit- 
tee of Ways and Means, that from an examina- 
tion of the subject, h& discovers that the average 
annual expenditure for fortifica'ions during the 
twelve jears preceding 1840, amounted to $866,000. 
This would require at the same rale of expendi 
turc upwards of forty years to complete our sys- 
tem of fortifications, a time long enough, I vhould 
suppose to satisfy the most icrupulous economist. 
For causes not now necessary to investigate, only 
$182;000 were expended during the year 1840 
upon fortifications. From document No. 30, o( 
this session, it appears that the unexpended ba 
lances of appropriations of 1840 for fortifications, 
amounted to §784,025. The bill before us pro- 
poses that this sum shall be increased by an addi- 
tioral appropriati' n of $940,000, so that the mo- 
neys applicable to the repair of fortification!*, and 
to be expended by the first day of July, 1842, 
shall amount to the ageregaie sum of $1,724 025; 
this sum added to the $182,000 expended in 1840, 
will amount to the sum $1,906,025, and would 
make ihe average annual expenditure for the two 
years and a half, ending on the first day of July, 
1842, the sumof $762,410, being less by$103,590 
than the average annual expenditure on (brtifica- 
tions during the twelve precedii^g years, in a time 
of profound peace, with the exception of the In- 
dian war in Florida. It is proposed, in fact, to 
make up, by extraordinary activity in the Engineer 
Department, in the repairing of the fortifications, 
and placing the country in a state of defence 
during the current, and part of the ensuing year, 
for the want of activity during the year 1840. 

I can perceive nothing improper or extravagant 
in this design. It does not require war, or the 
threatened approach of war, to justify this expen 
diture. Jt is much less than the ordinary annua! 
peace expenditure for the great object of national 
defence. But the inquiry is very naturally made. 
Why anticipate the appropriations before the meet- 
ing of Congress at its next regubr session? The 
answer is obvious: Because, from the active mea- 
sures in progress, the moneys now available will 
be all expended befom appropriations c?,n be ob- 
tained, as it is known by experience that Congress 
usually passes the appropriation hills at tlur close of 
fach session, which, at the next session, \i'ill be av 



late as June or July, and by that time &no half of 
the wi rkiiig season will be over. 

It has bi en urged as an objection to (Li.; bill that 
our syslrin of ilef'-nce by foriifipations has been 
(lom timr to time enlarged; and that, after the ex- 
pendimre of millions ot dollars, the .^um or$35- 
443 711 has been estimated , is necessary to com- 
p!e e the system of fortifications recommended in 
the report of the board of oHV.er.s to whicl-i I have 
alluded. But is the-e any thins extraordinary or 
unreasonable in ihi-l Have not the thirteen origi- 
nal Slates, just emerging from the war of the Re- 
volution, exhausted, impoverivhed, and in dobt, in- 
creased t!i twenty-six sovereign, independent, and 
wealthy Staes, with three pxtensive and fer- 
tile Territories, soon to be admitted into the 
>is'erhood, and forming an empire ranking with 
the first naiions of the earth? Have not our po- 
pulation, wealth, resources, commerce, manufac- 
tures and agriculture, proportinably increased? 
Where but lately a gloomy forest frowned over 
the land, cultivated fields yield their rich harvests 
to the labors of the husban.!man, and mishty cities 
are springing; into existence; the sails of otir com- 
merce are spread on every ocean; the noise of the 
shuttle and trip hammer is heard in our manufac- 
turing towns, and the plough of the settler is con- 
verting the immense prairies of the West to the 
use of man. Our Government has become the 
great model Republic, and has sent forth her ex- 
plcrina expedition to advance the boundtiries of 
human knowledge and the cause of geography and 
science — our sea nxast lias been exieiided by the 
purchase of Louisiana and the Floridas, and our 
inland borders have been enlarged by the extin- 
guishment of the Indian title to the public lands, 
and by the extension of our frontier post.s. Jt 
would be as reasonable to suppose that a garment 
made for an infant would clothe a full-grown 
giant, as to centend that a system of economical 
delence, adopted in the infancy of our Rrpublic, 
would be suitable for this great and prosperous 
empire. 

There is a feeling prevailing to a grea' extent, 
which may pri-ve adverse to this bill, and to which 
I would apply a few remarks. Many regard ap- 
propriations of this dcsciiptiop as local appropria- 
tions, and made (or the benefit of the particular 
places, in whose vicinage the moneys w<"Uld be 
expended, and this consideration more or less in- 
fluences their voles on this floor. It is true 'hat the 
mechanics and laboring c'as.-esof such places may 
be, to a certain extent, benefited. They obtain 
employment, they receive wages, they retain the 
money in the country, they expfnd it in their sup- 
port. They form a portion (.f the great body of 
consumers which create a mart for our agricultu- 
ral and manufacturing produce, and thus these 
moneys are relumed back to the country, and cir- 
culate through ihe various channel.-, of industry, 
giving activity to bu.iuess, vigc>r to enterprise, 
and prosperity to all classes of the people. It would 
be .-i much more liberal view of ihrse appropria- 
tions, to consider them made for national objects, 
ti) regard the cities on our sea coast tind frontiers 
as the great warehouses of the nation, where the 
properly of its citizen's;, the tobacco, the cotton, the 
rice and sugar of the South, the grain and pro- 



5 



visions of the middle Statfi?, the mannfarturrs of 
tlie Ea^t, ihr products of ihe loresi and fislipri* s, 
of y> ur I'ur traders, of your whaiiriiT and sealins 
voyases, \our luiiitrals, and the^iirplus prodnc 
of the enuie country, arf brought for -ale ami t-x- 
port, or as the depois for the rtceplion of goods, 
wares, and merchandise, from foreign natioijs, to 
be sold and distributed through ihe country to sup 
ply the necessities or provide fonhe wants, ihecom- 
i'ort, or convenience of (he inhabiiani:;, to regard 
ihem as Ihe gre.it marts of trade and commerce 
receiving from the Cf untry and returning lo the 
country mutual benefit and advantage. The places 
where the fortifications already erected are situated, 
and where oihers are to be located, ate posiuons 
selected by competent engineers, with the view ol 
enabling ihe works erected on them to defend ihe 
entrances to the highways, by land and water, by 
which an invading enemy would enter our coun- 
try With his fleets and a.mie-, or to compel such 
an enemy to land his troops in situations most dis 
advantageous to them for advance or retreat, and 
where \key could be met and repulsed under cir 
cumsiances most favorable to the forces \vhic!i 
should oppose them. 

The neces'ity which requires the existence of 
fortifications m particular pos-itions is by no mf^ans 
foriunale lo the inhabitants of suci place?. They 
mu«t sustain the first shock of war — ihey must be 
the first to meet and repel mvasitin — they must 
suffer all the inconvenience of besieging fleets and 
armie? — ihe destruction of trade, the derangement 
of business, the ravages and depredations of hostile 
and licentiou.'5 soldiery. But while the wnr is 
raging here, all is q;iiet and peace in ihe interior. 
If judiciously located, properly constructed, and 
well defended, the foriificaiions prevent a;i enemy 
from entering the couniry; its inhabiiants pursue 
their various occupaiions, enjoy the social inter- 
course and interchange the courtesies of life, as if 
no hostile banner floated over besieging enemie-, 
and no friendly trumpet summoned the chivalry of 
the invaded districts to the battlements erected for 
their defence. For the want of such fortifications 
Havre de Grace and Buffalo wete burned during 
the la<t war. For the want of such fortifications 
the public buildings of this city, and the Halls of 
legislation, whicli covered the spot where stands 
the splendid edifice in which wp are now delibe- 
rating, were destroyed, and ihe inhabitanis of this 
District were doomed to witijess the flame-: of their 
lolly domes flickering in the heavens, an evidence 
of the want of prudence in their rulers, and of ihe 
vandal spirit of their invaders. For the want of 
such foriificaiions, the enemy took and held po.-- 
session of the city of New York inuring the whole 
of the Revolutionary war, and nlso ascended the 
Hudson and burnt Kingston. All civilized nations 
resort lo fortifications as a means ci defence, and, 
notwithstanding they are sometimes captured, no 
enlightened Government would for that reason 
abandon the use of them. 

In the report of the board of officers to which I 
have alluded, numerou.; instance.'^ are detailed of 
the successful defence of fortifications against the 
attack of vessels of war, armed steamers, and 
jQloating batteries of vastly superior force in ihe 



number and power of their armament. I wili 
mention some of the most remarkable. 

fn 1794 a small round tower in the bay of Mar- 
Icllo in Corsic), with only one heavy gun, beat 
olf two British ships of war without sustaining 
much injury. 

In 183G the town ef Faentcrahia was success- 
fully defended by three guns, moun'ed on an old 
wall, against a squadron of six armed steamers, 
two Biiiish, and several Spanish cunboats. 

But why search the history of Europe for in- 
'^lancjs \i{ ihe successful defence of I'oitifications, 
when our own furnishes so many e^ amplesi Who 
has not heard of the ga'.l-im defence of Fort 
.Vit ulirie, mounting about thirty pieces of heavy 
ariilleiy, sg.iinst the attack of a British fleet, con- 
siiiing of iwo ships of war of filly guns, lour of 
twenty eight guns, two of twenty guns, and a bomb 
kftch, under iho command ol Sir Peter Parwer? 
Who has not beard < f ihe brave defence of Sio- 
ningion by citizen soldiers, who, with a batlery 
only three feet high, mounting only two eighteen, 
pounders, beat off a rinop of wai? 

Tne successful defence of Fort McHenry by 
Colonel Armistead and the brave men under his 
command, consisting of regular trocps and volun- 
teer militia, again:^t thirty British ships of war, con- 
sisting of thips of the luie, laige friatcs, and bomb 
vessfls, by which Baliimore was .^aved from an at- 
la-k by this flref, is among the most brilliant 
achievrraents of the late war. I will refer to an- 
oiher bright page in the history of our country. 
The defence of the Fort at Lower Sandusky by- 
Colonel Croghan, who, wiih a small number of 
men, arvmed with muskets, and ons six-pounder, 
successfully defended the fort with the loss of only 
one man killed, and seven wounded, against a si- 
multaneous attack by gun-boats, and a land force 
consisting of five hundred Biilish troops and frcm 
seven lo eisht hundred Indians, aided by five six 
pounders and a howitzer, who lost in the attack, in 
killed, wounded, and prisoners, upwards of one hun- 
dred and fifty men. But v;hy multiply examples when 
the universal practice of civilized nations attest their 
opinion of the utility of fortifications for national 
defence? During ihe long and bloody wars be- 
tween France and England, growing out of the first 
revolution in France, what prevented the fleets of 
Britain.wiih her immense naval supenoniyandfprox- 
iiniiy of situation, from entering the naval depots 
and commercial ports of France, but foriificaiions, 
jui-iiciously placed, and suitably provided with the 
means of defence'? Admonished by the past, the 
Government of France is now placing Paris in a 
state of det'ence, by the erection ol fortifications at 
a vast expense, prudently preparing, in time of 
peace, for the emergencies of war. 

It is alleged by ihe opponents of this bill, that 
the assailing enemy would have an increased pow- 
er of attack and annoyance by means of armed 
war steamers, and that such steamers could pass 
by our batteries into our harbors unperceived, or, 
if discovered, without much oppo.silion or injury, 
and wish the committee to infer that the erection 
of fortifications is a useless expenditure of ihe pub- 
lic money. I do not draw the same conclusioa 
from the same premises. The increased power 
which the enemy derives from armed steamers, 



6 



furnishes an arsriiment why our ck-fonces should be 
propnrtionably increased, and their means of at- 
lack and resistance augmenied to onable them to 
cope with this new corahinaiionol' pnwer. Woultl 
not thessntries walk their rounds? Would nol le- 
legraph signals, and every oiher device, he made 
nse of which ihR ingenuity of man and military ex- 
perience have discovered, to prevent ^urprise and 
alarm the garrison on the approach of an enemy? 

Is it not fair to presume that the officers who 
shall be entrusted with tne command of fortifica- 
tions guarding the entrance to our seaports,'will ex- 
erc se their best judgment and skill in availing 
themselves of all the means within their control to 
prevent the passage of hcsiile i'hip* of war and 
armed steamers? Could not chains, rafts, vessels, 
and floating batteries be so placed, that while they 
should obstruct the passage of such ve,<sels, friend- 
ly ships would be allowed to enter? Is it not pro- 
bable liiat before an enemy could remove these 
obstructions, he might suffer so much annoyance 
from the fire of red hoi shot from the batteries as 
to d«em it prudent to retire? It has been observed 
that fortifications are useless inasmuch as an ene- 
my may land at a distance, and. march upon our 
cities in the rear. This is a mistake. The prin- 
cipal object of fortifications is to prevent the ap- 
proach of the vessels of an enernv in a particular 
direction, the landing of an armed force at parti- 
cular point?, and to give the garrison the advantage 
of defensive works, if assailed by lani-i or water. I 
will take an example. Fort Schuyler, for which 
an appropriation is proposed in this bill, is built on 
Throg's point, which projects fram the main land 
into the sound opponte Long Island, forming 
a narrow strait, through which ships of war 
must pas.<! under the guns of the fort in go 
ing to the cit/ of New York by Long 
Island sound frowi the east. Without this 
fortification, an enemy could land in the rear of the 
city below the strong defensive position afforded 
by Haerb'm river, and thus find no natural or arti- 
ficial obstacle opposed to his progress, and the city 
must be defended by the uncovered breasts and 
living valor of her citizen*. But this fort will com- 
pel an enemy's forces to land at some distance to 
the east of it, and more than twenty miles from 
New York; and in marching lo the city, they 
would have to pass Haerlem river, and a line of 
entrenchments bristling with cannon, manned fby 
citizens fighting for their altars and firesides, for 
wives, children, liberty, and life. In such a crisis, 
when old and young would rush to the "battle 
field," it is no exaggeration to say that with the mi- 
litia from Long Island, New Jersey, and the neigh- 
boring coumies, conveyed by numerous steam- 
boats, always at command, a force could be col- 
lected of one hundred thousand brave and deter- 
mined men, animated with the same enthusiasm 
in defence of their country, which lighted thei 
sires to victory in the war of the Revolution. In 
what situation would a besieging army and its 
commander be placed, with a broad river on each 
side of them, filled with armed steamers, vessels of 
war, and every means of annoyance that could be 
obtained? Haerlem river and a line of armed c*n- 
irenchments, welf manned in front, and the entire 
body of the militia of the country collecting in their 



rear by railroads, steamboats, and every available 
means of conveyance? I bt^lieve that th^y would 
b- in the same situation a^ General Bnrgoyne 
f'und himself and army at Saratoga, unless they 
saved themselves by a rapid flight and escape to 
their ."-hips. 

If this view of the subject is correct, if mnst be 
evident that no number of ^hips of war, armed 
steamers, or steam batteries, could answer the 
same purposes as Fort Schuyler. It is more pro- 
bable that an enemy, instead of landing his forces 
and marching directly on lh(? city, leaving the fort 
in their rear, would first attack the fortification by 
land and water, and prudence requires that the 
works should be prepared for such an emergency. 

An objection has been mad« to this bill because 
one of the fortifications for whieh an appropria- 
tion is required, covers sixty-three acres. If a 
board of competent officers has determined that the 
works require that number of acres, they should 
japt cnver so much land, 3o more, or less. The 
fortifications should be adequate, both in extent 
and force, for the purposes for which they are 
erected, or they become useles*, and the money ex- 
pended in their erection is wasted. In such mat- 
ters, the opinion of officers and engineers, whose 
studies, habiis of life, and experience, qualify them 
to judge accurately, are more to be relied upon 
than the vague speculations of inexperienced citi- 
zens, however splendid their talents and extensive 
iheir information on other subjects. 

Before I reply to the objection urged by some, 
that if the fortificaii^ns are completed, it will re- 
quire seventy thousand men t o man them, 1 will 
respectfully request an answer to this simple ques- 
tion. If it will require seventy thousand men to de- 
fi-nd the country with fortification-., how many 
men would it require without them? The opposition 
made to this hill because there is an unexpended 
balance of the appropriations of 1840, applicable 
to the repair of fortifications, should not influence 
the committee, unless it can be shown that the aggre- 
gate amount of ihis unexpended balance, and the 
appropriations made by this bill, are more than 
sufficient for the purposes to which they are to be 
applied. If it can be shown that the estimates of 
the engineers are incorrect, that a Ics^ sum thaa 
what is required would accomplish all that is in- 
tended to be efi'ected by the appropriations, theu 
there would be a fair inference and argument 
against the excess; but this is not even pretended. 
The objection then resolves itself into a mere ques- 
tion of time; that is to say, whether the appropria- 
tions ihall be made at this session or next; and as 
to that question, there is this answer, which I hope 
wiU be decisive with the committee. If the appro- 
priations are not now made, the worka will be 
shortly suspended for the want of funds to carry 
them on. If the appropriations are made, the for- 
tifications will be put in a serviceable State, and 
the couniry placed in a state of dedence. Can the 
Representatives of the people hesitate what deci- 
sion to make? 

But it is contended by some that these appropri- 
ation should be withheld because it is desirable 
that the navy should be increased, and a home 
squadron established. When suitable measures 
are proposed, having these objects in view, I will 



give ihem my cheerful support. I trust I never 
^hall be wanting in yielding a proper support to 
that gallant navy, which is the pride and the boast 
of our country; which experience has shown to be 
so u>;eful and so essential an arm of our defence; 
which has extended the iamt? ot our Republic lo 
the nK;:t remote ciimes; which has chastised her 
aggressors, humbled her foes, protected her citi- 
zens, and borne aloft the stripes and stars, amid 
the roar of elements and the thunder of battle. The 
home squadron I regard as u:;ei a! in aiding the de- 
fence of our harbor's; in protecting our foreign 
ccmniercG and coasting trade from piracies and de- 
predations, atid in cxieadin;; relief to merchant 
vejsels in distress. Representing, in part, a com- 
mercial ciiy, I should be wanting in my duty to 
my constituents, if! opposed measures deemed so 
Kseful and necessary. Appropriations for such 
purposes are net inconsisipnt with the objects o( 
this bill, but the reverse. The fortifications, army, 
and navy, will afford mutual protection and sup- 
port to each ottier, ami constiiute, together, the 
best system of national defence. In what manner 
would you protect the navy yards and the immense 
public properly collected in them: ships of war in 
dry docks, uiide rgoing repair; sh;,.. of war building 
on the stocl{^^ or lying in orditjary; timber and ma- 
terials of all kinds collected and arranged for the 
construction and equipment of vessels of war and 
armed steamers; the workshops, barracks, and 
buildings connectei with establishments of this 
kind, unless by suitable fortifications and breast- 
works. 

I have made these observations in support of ap- 
propriations for defence in anticipation of a state 
of peace. I neither f->xpect war nor advocate war. 
I believe it to be the interest of England and ti^e 
United States, to cultivaie the relations of peace 
and friendship, and by a reciprocity of commercial 
intercourse to supply the wants and increase the 
happiness of the people of both countries; and, I 
trust in God, that there is too much good sense and 
amicable feelitig, in their respective national coun- 
cils, to bring in belligerant collision two nations 
having a common ancestry, a common language, 
a common liiRratire, and distinguished for their 
advance? in civilization, in the arts and sciences, 
and in the principhs of free government. But, 
however ardent may be our attachment to peace, 
we cannot purchase it at the sacrii5ce of national 
honor. We cannot consent to the surrender of 
part of our national territory 1-y the alteration of 
our Northeastern boundary line, as guarantied by 
the treaty of 1783, and confirmed by the treaty of 
Ghent, unless by mutual concession and agree- 
ment, with the assent of the State of Maine. V/e 
cannot permit encroachmeats on our Oregon Ter- 
ritory. We cannot suffer vessels, sailing on the high 
seas under the protection of our flag, to be detain- 
ed and searched under any pretence whatever. 
We have demandetl and insist upon redress for 
the outrage committed on our national sovereignty, 
by the seizure of the steamboat Caroline, while 
moored at our shores, within our acknowledged ter- 
ritorial limits, in time of profound peace, by an 
armed band, acting under the command of a 
colonial officer of the British crown, who, in the 
darkness of midnight, boarded this unarmed and 



defenceless vessel, while her crew and passengers ' 
were buried in sleep, murdered an American citi- 
zen, and tent the boat, careless of those who might 
be in her, over the foaming cataract of Niagara, 
wrapt in a sheet of flames. 

Tlie State of New "Vork has proclaimed, through 
her Judiciary, that she will maintain her rights as 
a stivereign independent State, subject to the Con- 
smution of the United States, and that she will 
cause Alexander iWcLcod to be put on his trial 
for his allesed participation in the outrage com- 
mitted on the *;teamboat Caroline, in an indictment 
for murder. What may be the result of that trial 
no man knows, and what may be thecmsiquences 
of that result n J man can predict. With negotiations 
pending and unsettled on all or most of these 
■subjects, and when national pride checks a --pint 
of national conciliation, all refltcting men must 
entertain some gloomy forebodings lor the future, 
and wisdom admonishes us to be prepared for the 
last resort of con ending nations. We cannot hide 
from ourselves the fact that we are threatened with 
hostilities. We cannot close our eyes to the signs 
of the times; the clouds ot war have ri en on the 
political horizon, and assume a portentous aspect. 
An ariaed force of at least twenty thousand regular 
troops and large bodies of organized militia are 
hovering on our Canadian borders, ready lo pour 
down upon our country in case of hosiiliiies. Fif- 
teen or twenty thousand black troops have been 
organized in the V/est Indies, ready to be thrown 
into our Southern Stales, to raise the standard of 
rcbiilliin and to place arms in the hands of an in- 
surrectionary slave population; and when we be- 
hold England organizing a fleet of war steamers 
in the form of steam packets — when we behold her 
ship> of war bearing h'-r flag on" every sea, 
ready to fall upon otsr commerce, and to 
make an attack on our maritime cnits — 
shall we wait until the storm of war bursts upon 
ui^? until an invading army shall penetrate our 
country — spread desolation far and wide, destroy 
our ciiies, and ravage our country with fire and 
sword — until the savage auxiliaries of the enemy 
shall startle witn the war whocp the peaceful inha- 
bitants of our hills and valleys, or bathe the toma- 
hawk in the blood of helpless innocence? and solely 
rely for defence upon the militia, collected in haste, 
badly organized, and but partially disciplined? I 
have every confidence in the bravery, in the patri- 
otism, in the enterprise and skill of my country -nen. 
They would do all that men can do. I will admit 
that, on the first alarm, they would rally in defence 
of their country; they would repel the invader, and 
drive him over the border, <;r force him back lo 
his ships. But viewing all this in the most favora- 
ble aspect, without calculating theconiingencie-; of 
battle, would this successful effort of patriotism 
and valor restore a ravaged country to its former 
happy condition? Would it rebuild the conflagrated 
ciiies, towns, and habitations of our people? Would 
It restore their property or reanimate the bleeding 
corpses of their slaughtered countrymen? No, sir, 
no; we must keep the enemy out of the country. 
We must prevent the mischief. We must pro- 
lect our coasts and harbors with fortifications 
and every other available means of defence; 
and annoyance, which cxpciience and the improv£= 



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ment in the art of war have rendered (it and ne- 
cessary. Disiinguished as Ihe Amencan people 
. are among the civilized nations of ihe earth for 
boldness 01 enterprise and inquiry, advanced ar, 
ihey are in the artv, sciences, and literature; attach- 
ed, as they arp, to all that refines, adorns, and ele- 
vates the intellect, I am unwilling that in the art 
of war ihev should retrograde to a state of barba- 
rism, and have nothing to oppose to an a'^ailing 
foe, provided with all the military engines of de- 
struction, but their hardy frames, armed with rifles 
and muskets, uaprotecteJ by breastworks and for- 
tifications. I am aware of the advantage which 
such defences give to men inferiorin numbeis and 
discipline (o their assailants; and the baitle of New 
Orleans is a striking instance of the advantage of a 
covfer, andartiUery, to undisciplined milnia defend- 
ing themselves ag.iinst the attack cf hichly disci- 
plined and veteran troops. It is no answer to say 
th;U the breastworks, hebiud wtiich the Americans 
defended the city of Nev/ Orleans, were temporary 
works suddenly thrown up, and composed of eanh 
and cotton bags; for it must be evident to all, that 
their advantage would have been greater if their 
defences had been better, and that if they had been 
protected by a regular line of military woiks, judi- 
ciously planned and constructed, it is not probable 
that New Orleans would hava been assailed in that 
direction. 

I wish my country to advance in the art of war 
with the other civilized nations of the earth— to 
adopt all the improvements in discipline and tac 
tics— to have the best system for the formation (■•( 
a military force — to hz possessed of tho' most efii- 
cient engines of warfare, and the most judiciously 
planned and constructed fortifications and de- 
fences, not with the viev^ of maintaining large 
standing armies to eat up the subs'ance of the peo- 
ple — not for conquest or renown — but that wc may 
at all times be prepared to defend our country, her 
institutions and laws— -ihat we may always hav»? 
among us the elements of miliiary organization, 
and the means of rendering our militia efficient in 
service under the direction of officers of approved 
skill, bravery, and patriotism. In peace our forti- 
fications would be garrisoned by our small army; 
in war they would be manned by our militia, who 
would be trained to the service, and aided by the 
regular army, which would be increased as the 
wanisofthe nation might require. To have all 
this, the people have only to will it; and we, the 
Representatives of the people, should be the last to 
refuse necessary appropriations for such purposes. 
Is out country so poor, so exhausted, so impover- 
ished, so crippled and broken down, that we have 
not the means of repairing our fortification?, and 
placing our country in a state of defence? 
shall we proclaim this to the world, when we are 
threatened with war and vengeance, if we support 
the State of New York in the exercise of her rights, 
and in maintaining the dignity of her laws, by ar- 
resting and holding to trial an individual charged 
with being concerned in the murder of one of her 
citizens, or in the language of the British minister, 
"her Majesty's Government formally demand, 
upon the grounds already stated, the immediate re- 
lease of Mr. McLeod, and her Majesty's Govern- 
ment entreat the President of the United States to 
take into his most dcliberalc cohsideralion the sc- 



I rious nature of the consequences which must en- 
sue from a rejccion of this demand?" No, sir, 
our country may have sustained a temporary sus- 
pension of her energies, consequent upon the over- 
action causi-d by an extraordinary inflation of 
paper money. Sha may have been retarded in her 
advance bv injudicious and improvident legislation. 
She may have been torn and convulsed by the sg^- 
tation of party. But with a territory siretclaing 
from the regions ot the North, to the tropics, and 
extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, 
with every variety of soil and climate, v/ithanin- 
telligetit, indiistrous and enterprising people, rich 
in all the productions of nature, and art, her march 
1-. onward, onward. With the elasticity of youih, and 
the indomitable energies of her condiiion, she springs 
forward to greatness and empire, to that de.-tiny 
which no foresight can discover, no tongue pre- 
dict. May that destiny be fortunate, and happy. 
May our country ever be the conservator of free 
principles, the refuge of innocence, thej.sylum of 
the persecuted and distressed. But to preserve her 
so, she must be ever prepared to maintsia her 
riahts and avenge her wrongs. In questions of 
iliis de;?cription, no party feelings should be al- 
lowed to influence our deliberations, whatever 
may be our difference of opinion on abstract ques- 
tions of policy, or tneasures in relation to our in- 
ternal government, or with foreign nations, as re- 
ffudsour commercial relations and intercourse. 
When measures provi lir.g for the common defence 
of the country present themselves for considera- 
licn, there should be but <>ne opinion as to tke 
sreat object in view, however we may differ in 
the mode of accomplishing it. 

I had the honor of a seat on this floor when the 
question came before us whether we would su:- 
lain the Executive in insisting on the performance 
by France of the engas;ements she had entered 
into with this couniry, after long and tedious nego- 
tiations; and alihouah party spirit ran high, t-ll 
feelings of political dissension were sacrificed vn 
the altar of patriuiisni; and when with one united 
voice the House of Representatives deiermined to 
sustain the Executive in his efforts to maintain the 
natifinal rights and na'ionnl honor by resolving: 

'■Thai, in llic opinidii oiihis JIause, tl)e treaty willi Fiance 
uf ilie4Ui of. luly, 1831, should be maintained, and i'.s execu- 
tion insisted on." 

I felt proud of my country. Had I ever enter- 
tained doubts as to the stability of her institutions, 
tbey would have vanished whtn I saw all hearts 
ihus united in one common bond of patriotic (ecl- 
ing. And now, when our relations with Great 
Britain have assumed a beiligerant aspect, incon- 
sequence of negotiations and discussions growing 
out of the subjects to which I have calUd your at- 
tention, and she is prepared with her fleets and ar- 
mies to assail our seaboard, and fall upon our bor- 
ders at the first blast of the war trumpet, shall we 
refuse protection to the land over which waves the 
"star spangled banner?" I trust not, I say again, 
we should avail ourselves of all the means of de- 
fence which civilized nations possess in this age of 
improvement and enterprise, and I most ardently 
hope that the vote on this bill will reflect honor on 
this House, and afford an evidence to those who 
have entrusted us with the guardianship of tbeir 
welfare, that wc are not unnnndful of our daty tc 
them and lo our countrv. 



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VVERT " 



VV-ERT 
BOOKBINDING 

Cra-iville Pa 
Jan feO 1989 







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